Dear Santa Claus,I haven’t written to you lately, but I suppose you get enough mail at this time of year, so youhaven’t missed me. In fact, when I think back, I probably haven’t written to you since I was a little girl and asked you for a Nancy Drew mystery for Christmas. I was a big mystery reader then, and I still am.Well, I guess you’re wondering why I’m writing to you now, especially since I’m not a kid any longer. I’m a grownup, and now I write the mysteries I used to get for Christmas, but Santa, I’m stuck. What I’m asking you for now is an idea for a story. I haven’t been able to write anything for a long time. I’ve run out of ideas.I know you don’t usually package ideas in your sleigh. You usually bring toys and pretty dresses and books and computer games. But Santa, before you say no, please hear me out.All I want is an idea for a story. That’s all. That should be simple for you. It’s not like a million dollars or anything. Just an idea for a story, to get me writing again. That doesn’t seem like so much, does it?Oh, and if you can, can you give me a really, really interesting main character—someonemy readers will identify with and root for to find the answer to the puzzle. And, if it’s not too much trouble, maybe you could throw in a friend—you know, a sidekick—someone that my main character can talk to and bounce ideas off. And of course I do need a villain, although I don’t suppose, being the good man that you are, that you have much experience with villains, but what’s a story without a good villain? I’m sure you can come up with someone evil and threatening, although not so obvious that the readers will guess his identity immediately.Now, if you do this, give me an idea for a story and the characters, I’m sure I can take it from here. But, if you should be so inclined, maybe you could help me by providing a good setting for the story. I know you’ve been all over the world, even if it’s only by sleigh on Christmas Eve, but still, you know lots of places so you could give me a good place for my story to happen.And, maybe the most important thing of all for a mystery story, I need a twist. That’s always the hardest part of the story—well, aside from all the other things I asked for--but the twist in a mystery story is absolutely a necessity. No one wants to read a story that says that A met B and B hated A and then killed A and the police and everybody else knew it because B didn’t like A.I need something new, something novel, a twist that will surprise my readers.And, if you could also arrange that my story gets accepted in some big name magazine, that would be terrific, too, but I can probably do that myself.So, Santa Claus, I guess that’s it. That’s all I want for Christmas. Lots of love,Carole

​Dear Carole,That’s all you want for Christmas? You haven’t been in touch for years and years, and now this is what you want for Christmas? Well, I’ve thought it over, and here’s my answer. f I could come up with what you asked for—a story idea, a protagonist, a sidekick and a villain, an interesting setting, and a twist for the ending—if I could come up with all that, I’d write the story myself.Merry Christmas,Santa Claus

A Most Famous Christmas Killing: Stagger Lee Shoots Billy and an Iconic Song is Bornby DP LyleThe night was clear and the moon was yellow And the leaves came tumbling down I was standing on the corner when I heard my bulldog bark He was barkin’ at the two men who were gamblin’ in the dark It was Stagger Lee and Billy, two men who gambled late Stagger Lee threw seven, Billy swore that he threw eight Stagger Lee told Billy, “I can’t let you go with that” “You have won all my money and my brand new stetson hat” Stagger Lee started off goin’ down that railroad track He said “I can’t get you Billy but don’t be here when I come back” Stagger Lee went home and he got his fourty-four Said “I’m goin’ to the barroom just to pay that debt I owe” Stagger Lee went to the barroom and he stood across the barroom door He said “Nobody move” and he pulled his fourty-four Stagger Lee shot Billy, oh he shot that poor boy so bad Till the bullet came through Billy and it broke the bartender’s glass.Lordy, what a great song. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve listen to it or played it on the guitar. It just never gets old.You have to admit, the words are intriguing. Who the heck is Stagger Lee? And Billy? And did Lee kill Billy over a hat and some cash? Does this song have any basis in reality?You bet.Some say it was Christmas Eve, others say Christmas Day, but most all agree it was 1895, that the events that spawned an iconic American song went down. So did young Billy Lyon who was shot and killed by Lee Shelton, a cab driver and pimp who went by the moniker Stag Lee, or Stack Lee, the story has many iterations. Apparently they had been drinking, gambling, and arguing politics, and of course the money on the table and the turn of the dice. Alcohol, gambling, and guns make a toxic mix.Stag Lee apparently shot Billy in the stomach, took his hat, and walked away. He was quickly arrested, and then tried, convicted, and sent to prison where he died in 1912. There was nothing special about this murder, just another shooting on the mean streets of St. Louis’s tenderloin district, but it was the stimulus for many songs that recounted the events of that day. A song that is truly iconic in the history of the blues and rock and roll.I bet you can hear it in your head right now.The song has been recorded under many names: Stagger Lee,Stagolee, Stackerlee, Stack O’Lee, Stack-a-Lee, and the list goes on. It is estimated that over 400 versions have been recorded over the last century, each with its own take on the story.The version that most people know is the 1959 recording by Lloyd Price, which contrasts starkly with the version recorded by the great Mississippi John Hurt in 1928. It has also been recorded by The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Johnny Otis, The Grateful Dead, RL Burnside, Keb Mo, and many others.Want to know more? Here are a few links:Lee Shelton: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_SheltonStagger Lee: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stagger_LeeLloyd Price: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lloyd_PriceListen to two great versions of this song. You will all remember the Lloyd Price version for sure:Mississippi John Hurt’s Version: http://www.staggerlee.comLloyd Price’s Version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxv4m7oiuvQD.P. Lyle #dplyleWebsite: http://www.dplylemd.comBlog: http://writersforensicsblog.wordpress.comCrime and Science Radio: http://www.dplylemd.com/crime--science-radio.html